MISS PAINTER, YOUR ART HAS COME ALIVE!-Chapter 25 : Chapter 25 - Breaking in the city and the rewards

An unknown colossal beast surged into midair. Amid everyone's shock, its massive body, over ten meters long, suddenly flipped!
Its mountain-like form twisted into a circle, swinging its tail hammer downward with world-shattering force!
“Impossible— !!!!”
The third-stage Ascender's skin flushed crimson, veins bulging on his neck as he roared upward. Brilliant light erupted from his body, forming heavy armor on both sides of his frame.
It was clearly the same ability as Gravilier's!
He had tested it before, his spirit-energy armor could withstand boulders launched by catapults!
Although he didn't know what exactly was happening with Kaelis's attack, surely its strike couldn't possibly surpass...
Just as this thought crossed his mind, the tail hammer descended!
“Boom!”
The collision exploded with dazzling light!
The sound rang like thunderous temple bells, making everyone's scalp tingle.
The horned dragon's tail hammer shattered with a crack!
Yet the third-stage Ascender's body was also sent flying off the wall.
But before that, his eyes had already gone blank.
He had been instantly killed by the horned dragon's blow!
“┗|｀O′|┛ Aaaah~~, !”
After landing, the victorious horned dragon raised its head and roared toward the sky, making nearby' internal organs tremble soldiers and their faces twist with terror as they stared at this unpredictable, ferocious giant beast.
Yet in the blink of an eye, its body began to dissolve.
“So, I can perform over-summoning, but only unleash a special single strike?”
Watching the horned dragon gradually disappear, Kaelis seemed already prepared.
She now roughly understood her four summoning methods.
[Ink Drop, Basic Summoning]
[Pigment, Support Summoning]
[Sketch, Advanced Summoning]
[Detailed Drawing, Special/Over-Summoning]
These abilities could complement each other. Normally, she'd use Ink Drop for instant basic attacks; Sketch and Pigment can be pre-prepared as main combat skills, while Detailed Drawing will serve as her ultimate move.
“Wait... Isn't this just skill one, two, and three?”
Kaelis suddenly realized...
Skill one automatically recovers and has fast cooldown. Skill two is the main combat ability. Skill three is the ultimate decision.
Then... how strong does that make me?
Kaelis smirked faintly. But at that moment, the enemy soldiers nearby snapped back to awareness.
“She... she seems to have no more power left?”
“Go! We absolutely cannot let the gate open!”
“Kill, !!!”
With the greatest threat gone, these fighters were still formidable.
Among them, hidden experts emerged.
Soon, one man burst with white mist, leaping several meters high as he lunged straight towards Kaelis!
“Go join our captain in death!”
He roared, gripping his spear tightly with both hands!
Yet Kaelis merely cast a cold glance, then suddenly switched her footing!
Flower Step!
A flash of light slashed his throat!
Instant kill!
This sharp, decisive attack stunned everyone who assumed Kaelis had no strength left to fight.
“I'm not just a summoner, you know.”
Silently lifting her standard-issue longsword, Kaelis casually kicked the corpse off the wall. She smiled sweetly at the soldiers who now looked at her with fear in their eyes.
Blood splattered onto her dress, resembling a blood-stained lily...
Watching the fleeing soldiers, Kaelis moved at the restless troops and shook her head slightly.
“Everyone... hold your positions. Under no circumstances advance. Violators will forfeit all rewards!”
Her cold words mentioned no executions, yet the threat of losing rewards instantly calmed them.
True enough.
After all, they'd already earned the major reward for being first to breach. There was no need to greedily pursue minor merits.
Although of course, small greed isn't really greedy...
Kaelis pondered, then flicked her wrist.
An unknown fluid, whether blood or sweat, suddenly splashed outward, transforming into a strange hound and a spiked, spherical insect creature.
They darted toward the fleeing soldiers. The insect suddenly reacted violently, glowing red.
Then...
“Boom!”
The explosion instantly blasted them all away!
Scorching Sourcestone Insect + Hound = Self-Destructing Puppy!
The team wins again!
This pair required about thirty spirit points to summon...
Not too much, not too little, decent for clearing grunts, but insufficient against tougher targets.
Maybe later she could specifically develop cheaper self-destructing variants? Or try a mass-explosion strategy, pre-drawing a hundred sketches, then detonating them all at once...
A twenty-meter blast radius! Take this!
Kaelis raised her sword, lost in random thoughts.
Meanwhile, the enemy army outside began retreating in waves.
This meant the siege... was finally coming to an end...
...
“Is it dawn already?”
After a whole night of chaos, several hours passed before the battle situation stabilized and the sky began to lighten.
This made Kaelis suddenly feel reflective.
Time had shifted.
In her previous simulation, the battle also began in the dead of night. But the Dias forces held firm, and without high-tier fighters intervening, the fight dragged on until long after sunrise the next day.
But this time, thanks to Kaelis's surprise attack and the gate being opened, the Dias army suddenly lost their will to defend, though it was only a side gate, it was enough to shake their morale.
Deprived of their fighting spirit, they collapsed faster than before... yet not as completely as last time.
At least this time, the battlefield wasn't littered with corpses... though it wasn't far off.
Battle merits still needed to be counted and recorded, but Kaelis left that task to Seren. She wasn't skilled at such things, nor particularly interested.
But before leaving, Kaelis reminded Seren to distribute the final explosive kills' merits among all soldiers.
Kaelis was fulfilling her promise made before departure, every glory, shared by everyone!
This previously left grumbling soldiers both shocked and delighted.
They had assumed Kaelis stopped them from segueing so she could claim the kills herself... though they understood, it still felt slightly uncomfortable.
They thought she stopped them so she could grab the rewards more easily.
But now, they suddenly felt ashamed of their own pettiness. Kaelis was truly thinking of everyone! A sudden charge would be too dangerous, better to hold position, let her use abilities to secure rewards, then share them all equally...
To have such a leader... is truly wonderful!
Their evaluation of Kaelis rose once again, especially among the first squad, the unit directly under Kaelis, who now became utterly devoted to her.
As battlefield newcomers, they could actually share such massive merits. As long as they survived, this was enough to ensure their comfort for the rest of their lives.
Their shouts of "Captain" became increasingly natural.
The Captain's kindness can never be repaid!
And Kaelis was happy with this outcome.
Returning to camp, she rested properly through the night. Unlike her first time killing, Kaelis didn't feel the previous discomfort or sleeplessness. She quickly fell asleep.
In her dreams, she recreated the world-famous masterpieces in this world, painting “Starry Night” “The Four Seasons”, becoming the most famous artist in this world, single-handedly advancing the civilization's aesthetic development...
And when Kaelis opened her eyes again, it was already afternoon.
“Hey, time to get up!” Kaelis sprang from bed, ready to find Seren for some food.
But just then, Kaelis suddenly noticed an old man with white beard sitting cross-legged with closed eyes inside her command tent.
Some impatient commanders stood nearby. Seeing them, Kaelis blinked.
“You guys…”